Bagpipes
Bagpipes are a class of musical instrument, aerophones, using enclosed reeds fed from a constant reservoir of air in the form of a bag. Though the Scottish Great Highland bagpipes have the greatest visibility in the English-speaking world, bagpipes have been played for centuries (and continue to be played) throughout large parts of Europe, Turkey, the Caucasus, around the Persian Gulf, Northern Africa and North America. The term "bagpipe" is equally correct in the singular or plural, although in the English language, pipers most commonly talk of "the pipes", "a set of pipes" or "a stand of pipes".
Construction
A set of bagpipes minimally consists of an air supply, a bag, a chanter, and usually, at least one drone. Most bagpipes have more than one drone (and, sometimes, more than one chanter) in various combinations, held in place in stocks — sockets that fasten the various pipes to the bag.
Air supply
The most common method of supplying air to the bag is through blowing into a blowpipe, or blowstick. In some pipes the player must cover the tip of the blowpipe with his tongue while inhaling, but most blowpipes have a non-return valve that eliminates this need.